OSCARS! I had a really mediocre time watching them ’cause Matt and Andy and I have all watched them together the past two years, so it was pretty horrible watching it by myself and conferring over text messages.

GRAPE SCENTED SHOES! They are beyond beautiful in person and are actually lighter in color than they are online. I went to buy them on Saturday afternoon and they didn’t have them in my size . . . I was disappointed but am looking at other establishments to try and find them. Check my Pulse if you don’t know which shoes I’m talking about (was anyone going to tell me I didn’t finish that sentence? heh)

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS! I saw them on Saturday at a kids’ show and it was phenomenal. Seeing two guys rock out on accordian and bass is even nerdier than it sounds and I loved every minute of it.

FQ!

Would you donate your remains to science?

as long as they promise not to put baking soda and vinegar on top of me and turn me into a volcano

What are the few things that you must always have in your bag or on you at all times?

The seven-year-old I babysit at least once a week decided to empty my bag on Saturday, so here’s what she found:
-four kinds of chapstick/lip gloss
-four pens
-mini-notebook and planner
-book
- . . . girl stuff, as you can never be overly prepared (“Natalia! What’s this? Can I have it?”)
-keys/wallet/phone/digital camera

Who taught you how to ride a bike, and when?

My mom and dad . . . I was ten. What up late adopter.

What is a funny caption you would put on your t-shirt?

(it was Andy’s Christmas present – thx Spreadshirt!)

Also, in any given situation, Efron would get highlights and probably dance.

What are five things you do every day?

1. drink at least two cups of coffee
2. crack my knuckles/back (the
3. get online
4. talk to/text my buddies on the phone
5. fly through brick walls

Thank goodness my brick habit redeems me – look how boring I am otherwise.

We’re into the semi-finals of American Idol, when 24 overexcitable teenagers and twentysomethings butcher our favorite songs until making it into the elusive top twelve.

This season, we’ve met . . .

• a nurse who’s all about ROCK AND ROLL m/ [>.<] m/
• Leif Garrett redux
• a dude with dreads who looks like a chick but sings rather nicely
• a tiny girl with a huge voice (go Ramiele!)
• an ex-boy band member (you can read an old fansite here) who actually had the temerity to say “I love rock!”
• the equivalent of Christian from Project Runway (who a friend has dubbed Hannah Gaytana)
• an Irish girl who couldn’t get a visa in time last year and fibbed about her past
• saying that your record company “imploded” isn’t accurate, homeslice – MCA was absorbed by Geffen and Universal!
• her debut single was called “I’m Gonna Blow Your Mind” . . . how nuanced!
• her album sold 400 copies
• DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE!

ANYWAY, back before the guys and girls were split, there were 32 contestants split into four groups on Idol – group two was habitually stacked with a whole bunch of talent, the first and third were notoriously lackluster and the wildcard round winners were usually pretty obvious choices.

Group 4, season 2 brought contestants Josh Gracin and Corey Clark into the top twelve but also included my favorite Idol contestant of all time, Juanita Barber.

The replacement for Frenchie Davis after some unsavory pictures ended up on the interwebz, Juanita joined the group and asked America an important question – what about the children?

In a 2003 interview, the talent-deluded Tennessee native (“I do hair, I can rap, I write poems,” she says in her Idol mandated survey) explains that she has big plans even if Idol doesn’t work out (“I guess I’ll go to The Apollo or something.”). Here’s a recap of her performance.

Juanita sings Yolanda Adams’ weepy ballad, “What About The Children“, and gets very lukewarm applause. The judges don’t like it.

Paula: “I’m seeing a lot of oversinging . . . subtlety is the key.”
Simon: “Juanita, Juanita, Juanita! I think, I mean, you really
chose the wrong song . . . “

“How’s that the wrong song? I’m singing this song to America,
and I’m axin’ them ‘what about the children?’ How’s that the wrong
song?”

Juanita fights with Randy, eventually leading to his asking her, “Do you know who I am?”

“Do you know who I am? I’m Juanita; I can sing; I made it this far. I hope y’all figure out who I am.”

BEST CONTESTANT EVER!

Who’s your favorite horrible Idol contestant of all time?
Are you voting for the worst this year?
Who do you like this season?

It’s Valentine’s Day, and, let’s be honest – it’s a little last year to complain about not having a Valentine. Wah wah, boohoo, go do something that will make you happy instead. Bake a cake, wait until midnight and run out to the store to buy discounted candy hearts (my favorite!) or watch Beetlejuice. Whatev.

But if you do have a special someone, you’re probably behind schedule and need something to show your appreciation that won’t cost $28793423894 or involve a whole bunch of effort; this year, make other people work for you.

And by “other people,” I mean last.fm and a bunch of legendary musical artists because you can preview some full songs for free.

Here’s a mixtape that will leave the ladies (or gentlemen) all up ons without your sounding like a sentimental schlop, hand picked by yours truly:

1.   Nina Simone – To Love Somebody
2.   Os Mutantes – Baby
3.   R.E.M. – At My Most Beautiful
4.   Incubus – Echo
5.   Mike Doughty – I Hear The Bells
6.   Wilco – Company in My Back
7.   Georgie Fame – Yeh Yeh
8.   Ben Folds – Songs of Love
9.   The Turtles – Happy Together
10. Big Star – Thirteen
11. The Rubettes – Sugar Baby Love
12. Cake – Love You Madly

(Chris and I went through 1000 accounts today, so if you see footprints from either of us today, no worries – we’re going through sites for the True campaign )

(to clarify, I’ve sent 10,000 emails since I started working at Xanga.)

THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!

edit for FQ: Do you think corporal punishment – spanking – is child abuse? Why or why not?

thanks, mom and dad, for using your words instead of smacking me and for teaching by example – using your words is always better than physical assault.

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

(btw, if you have never seen Breakin’ 2, you really need to check it out – an extended breakdance fight, dancing on the ceiling and fighting The Man – equipped with bulldozers – to keep your community center open makes for a downright wonderful hour and a half of fun)

It’s been a fascinating couple of days and I don’t think I’ll ever look at card numbers the same way.

(“Gee, Dad, we never thought of it that way!”)

I emailed Visa Extras asking if I could have my username (read: number) and got this back within a few hours:

Dear Natalia xxxxxx,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry, but we cannot directly help you with this situation because Visa itself does not set up, service or have access to cardholder or merchant accounts. Our member financial institutions (the banks) do.

Please contact the financial institution that issued your Visa card using the address or telephone number on the Visa statement. This number may also appear on the back of the card itself. The financial institution can directly address your inquiry.

Bummer. So there’s that.

Jean (who is a fab cyber-detective and helped me refine my searching) Melania and JJ (who let me ask them what their first digits of their cards were and didn’t question my motives or accuse me of outright theft) were all v. helpful in helping me remember what the beginning numbers were.

It turns out that the nearly half of your card number will be representative of the issuing bank. For example, JJ and Melania and I all got our cards from the same bank location at school and shared the same first six digits, which helped jog my memory and compile the rest of the sequence.

Also, credit card numbers are verified by the Luhn algorithm, which essentially has you doubling every other number and contracting the result into one digit if it’s over 10 (example: 6 x 2 = 12, 1 + 2 = 3 instead) adding the numbers together in a reverse order and seeing if the total end result ends in 0.

After my buddays lent me the first six digits and I remembered the rest of them, I Luhned ‘em and came up with a valid number, so I have, in fact, determined the correct sequence.

Buuuut because the account’s been closed since July, the Visa Extras account is null and void.

[insert trumpet "waaaah-waaaaaaaaaah" sound]

Thanks to everyone who had suggestions of what to do – when I earn enough points to get something cool, I’ll be sure to bring something to share with the whole class.

About a year ago, I read an ad about Visa Extras, which essentially involves connecting your debit/credit card number to Visa’s site and accruing points according to your purchase amount. You get tons of silly bonuses depending on the amount of money you spend and amass a ridiculous amount of points relatively shortly. Your username is your debit card number, so it’s hard to forget as long as you have your card nearby. Sounds excellent, right?

I spent a pretty good amount of money on my last (Visa Extras linked) debit card, but when I moved, I decided to cut ties with my devil bank (they know who they are – we have fought in two languages!) and cut up my card because it seemed like a dramatic but wonderful gesture (and a cool picture, too).

Anyway, I’m curious to see if I have amassed enough points for a European excursion (200,000 points) or a $100 Amazon gift card (40,000) and I can’t remember the number on my chopped card, which is probably living in a luxurious New Jersey dump right now.

SIDE STORY: According to my mom, my fiveish-year-old precocious self sang a made up song while we were out one day – when she listened more carefully, she realized that I was singing her Visa number for everyone to enjoy.

So now, I’ve been racking my brain and playing with number combinations in my head to see if I can come up with it – so far, no luck. I’m positive that I’ve got the last eight digits right (checked receipts!) and I know two more, but that leaves four very annoying digits that are taunting me. Apparently my level 31 numberz pwnage peaked seventeen years ago.

What should I do? This is multiple choice for your convenience.
a) suck it up and forget it – this is free stuff and not worth it
b) think harder and figure out the other numbers
c) send a pleading email to Visa that they won’t return (like a certain website I still haven’t heard back from yet)

MORAL OF THE STORY: Write down your card numbers somewhere safe just in case.
[The More You Know! logo]